Latest Posts Under: Travel

As I wanted to tell you about all the mystical places that exist in the world. I could not help but think of Mount Roraima which lies on the borders of Guyana, Venezuela, and Brazil and it is a monstrous slab of rock that sits there towering through the clouds.

I wanted to bring you the unconventional, and this mountain is one of them. If you are up for the challenge, you can make the trip to the top yourself. You start in Pemon Village in Paraitepui. From here you head off hiking, it is not overly hard, and the local indigenous people are more than willing to help.

It is better to have them as a tour guide as they will know the area like the back of their hand. All in your trek could take four days so it is not something you can do in the afternoon. Talking of afternoon, you are not allowed to leave after 2 pm, so it is better to have an early start. You can also only take up to 15kg of gear with you.

The highest point up the mountain is 2810 meters so the air could be a little thin if you get that high. If you find yourself here, you should take some rain protection. It tends to rain all year round, and as the surface of the mountain is pretty much flat, there is often random waterfalls that appear after a heavy shower.

When it was discovered back in 1596 by the intrepid English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, he was unfortunate not to climb it as they did not know of a route to the top. I think he would have been more amazed than he already was.

The way to get to the top or the easy way is through a forest trail that forms a natural staircase you can climb to the top. Thisis located on the Venezuela side of the mountain, and any other routes are challenging and require you to have the skills of a rock climber.

If you are interested, December to April is the best time as this falls into their dry season, or should I say drier season. If you have the chance, it is advisable to make use of a tour guide, no matter how well the path is marked. A good number of people each year get lost amidst the clouds and the fog on their way up to the summit.

Travel to the top safe and take in all those breathtaking views that are on offer for a once in a lifetime experience.

Nah! I am not there, but it had you thinking for a moment. I know what you are thinking, Oslo, what is there?

You would be surprised, and so was I, when I was asked to book a two week trip for a business client. It’s on the up and up for tourist destinations and is full of clean, fresh air.

To start off, it can be chilly so make sure you take some warm clothes if you plan on visiting. You will also be happy to know you can travel on a relative budget which is always good to hear. With over 50 hotels Oslo has more than its fair share to meet any budget, and it has the second tallest hotel in the whole of Northern Europe which is surprising (Radisson Blue Plaza Hotel).

With plenty of choices where to stay, you might need to know what things you have on offer to eat and drink. Well, as with any major city there is more than enough restaurants, cafes,and bars along with the obligatory street food on many corners.

One thing I can tell you about the food there is, it is fresh, especially the fish. They love to fish in these parts. That is not to say you have to live on fish. There are lots of international restaurants from Thai, Italian and any other culture you care to throw into the mix.

If you taste anything that tastes like lemon, there is a chance it might not be. Lemons are not grown in Norway, yet they have ants, so your lemon juice on your fish might be those little creepy crawlies.

If you are into modern buildings,you’ll be happy to know that Oslo is teeming with architectural innovations, and if you fancy taking some snaps of these funky places and structures, they are a far cry from the small white buildings you can find down by the harbors. The best place to check all this out is the chic downtown waterfront area; it can be a great night out.

Depending on the time of year it isobvious, there areskiing and most of which is done 30 minutes from the city in Oslo winter park. Apart from the winter sports, you would expect there is plenty more to see and do around Oslo depending on the time of year.

Oslo is home to one of Scandinavia’s largest climbing parks which are located in the summer park a quick 30 minutes from the town center. There are botanical gardens and sculpture parks; they seem to love sculpture in Norway.

You can go island hopping from one of the boats or take a splash in the Sorenga seawater pool which might be on the cool side for most. Moreover, for a summer day, you can visit the Akershus Fortress and discover their local history.

If you fancy some roller coaster action, you can make a quick trip to Tusenfryd or is that just a little too much like home?

Barcelona, Spain is one of the world’s most beautiful cities and is the leading tourist city in Spain. People from all over the world visit Barcelona during all seasons for the diversity it offers. The city has a beach on the Mediterranean Sea but is far from being just a vacation spot.

The city itself is full of life especially near La Rambla which is a world famous street from the amount of small shops as well as large stores it has. It’s a lovely place to take a walk at night and has a variety of restaurants from authentic Catalan restaurants to regular fast food all the way to traditional Arab food. Near La Rambla there’s Pablo Picasso’s museum who spent a major part of his life in Barcelona. The museum is beautiful and full of his work. On entry to the museum you get an audio device that can tell you a little background information about each painting. Right next to it you’ll also find a museum containing some Egyptian artifacts if you’re into that.

Another major attraction is the Camp Nou stadium home to one of the world’s best football teams FC Barcelona. The football season starts in August and ends in late May so anytime of the year between these 2 months you’re very likely to find games almost every Saturday/Sunday and also on Tuesday/Wednesday. Camp Nou is the largest football stadium outside the United States as it has a capacity of 99,000 spectators and is going to be renovated so it can host even more. Inside the stadium there’s the FC Barcelona museum where you can see trophies won by the club, historical shirts that belonged to legendary players, and certain balls or kits that hold an important significance. Seeing the team play is a chance one should not miss out on as the world’s finest football player, Lionel Messi, plays for the club and makes sure to entertain all those who come to watch every few days for most of the year.

On a visit to Barcelona one cannot miss seeing a Flamenco show which is a famous dance style known in Barcelona. The best option would be to book your seat in a show online before actually going and it’s better to go to a show with multiple dancers rather than just one.

Barcelona is a beautiful city. The folks are lovely and the weather is amazing. Just taking a walk in the street will calm you down. Go outside, meet the locals, do some shopping, and enjoy life in Barcelona.

What can I say about myself? A mid-thirties stay at home mom with two adorable kids who are three and six-month-old respectively. Zack and Chance are a bit of a handful some days,yet they are a real blessing, well we all know children are a blessing really, even if they do act like the devil sometimes.

For now, there is no sign of going back to work so as many stay at home moms do, I have taken up blogging as a hobby, and at some point in the future, well, you know how it goes. We try and make money off these things somehow. Alternatively, has the blog bubble burst yet?

I spent a while trying to come up with an idea for my tiny corner of the internet that might sound slightly interesting. I did quite a bit of umming and ahhing to think of a topic that came anywhere near to being something I knew a decent amount about that I could write about. All I came up with time and time again was writing about travel from varying perspectives.

What makes you qualified? I hear you shout. Well mentioning no names I was an air hostess for a few years and then when I got married I put down my wings and went into corporate travel management. This is not all business trips I had to book, so there were quite a few requests for something a little different.

I forgot to mention. I now live just outside Valencia in Spain, and I promise not to slip into “Hola, buenosdias,” or anything like that.

Apart from a brief introduction about me I just want to say I hope to give you more than enough reading of the weird and wonderful places out there that are either worth a visit if you are in the region, or they give you enough insight to be a little curious. It might be a little offbeat at times, yet I hope it will never be dull.

If you’re lucky, I might just slip in some of those tales of things that happened on overnight flights when passengers thought almost everyone was asleep. That could raise a few eyebrows on some readers that’s for sure.

First up I will give you a roundup of some of the best places on the planet to visit and those little corners that remain hidden from most travel guides or vacation/holiday brochures we all love to read during the winter.